


Where I Belong

by orphan_account



Series: Home [1]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: (theyre about to graduate bbys), Aged-Up Character(s), F/M, Fluff, Identity Reveal, lowkey angst, ok maybe not lowkey but it doesnt hurt for very long ok
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-14
Updated: 2016-08-24
Packaged: 2018-07-23 23:15:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,544
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7483809
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>With graduation on the line, Marinette is looking at her future with starry eyes, she's become talented and wanting more than just her familiar home of Paris. On the other hand, Adrien has been told what to do and he knows that will be his life. With his father prepping him to take over the company, Adrien doesn't feel the need to rush through things until he finds his Lady getting cold feet. He knows she can't leave before defeating Hawkmoth, so in one last-ditch effort, they pull off their most dangerous mission thus far.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. fight and flight

**Author's Note:**

> I know what you're thinking when I say I'm terrible at summaries and truly, I'm sorry.

Marinette was alerted to the akuma by a voice over a screen. As the possessed individual laid out their plan to take over Paris, Marinette ran for an alleyway past crowds of people, adrenaline rising in her as she activated her transformation.

“This is my chance, Tikki.” She almost whispered as she swung her yo-yo out to the TV station.

She caught up with Chat on the rooftop of the building, “Good morning, my Lady,” he looked tired, considering the early hour of the attack, but nonetheless here.

“Chat,” she said seriously and his joking manner slipped away, “I think we should wait it out.”

“What?”  
~ ~ ~

His Lady has gone mad. Ladybug explained her plan, and he knew that she had lost her mind, or worse.

“Do you see, Chat Noir?” She pleaded, eyes wide. His heart trembled a bit but he still was skeptical.

“Are you the akuma, Ladybug, because if so we are all doomed.” He laughed, though a small burst of fear erupted in his chest from the truth of his words. He couldn’t save or fix the city, not without her.

“Haha, Chat, very funny,” she rolled her eyes, a small smile leaking from her oddly serious façade, “will you give it a try with me?”

He knew the answer from the beginning, he thought as she held her hand out for him to take. For a second, he realized that she did too.  
~ ~ ~

She didn’t expect to have to convince Chat. He trusted her, even when the odds seemed to be stacking up against them, situations becoming worse and worse, yet he still held strong for her to execute whatever plans she concocted. Even through pain and fatigue, with the threat of their identities being revealed with each risk, he stood by her side so strongly.

She questioned whether this was a good idea or not, but still running into the building, Chat hot on her heels. They reached the room where the broadcast was being held and waited outside the door. They could hear the akuma victim laughing maniacally.

She looked at Chat briefly before realizing he had been staring at her intently, waiting for her next command. She blinked, her mind blank for only a second before regaining her composure, “Are you ready?”

He flashed a smile before nodding, “On your call, my Lady.”

“On three then,” she said, despite her heart beating faster and faster, “Three.” She slowed her breathing. “Two,” her muscles tensed, “One!” The door swung open and they ran in formation. She hung left, knowing Chat was on the other side mirroring her. The duo met up again at the victim and before he could grasp the situation, Chat threw a quick hit by his baton as Ladybug swung her yo-yo and trapped him.

The victim moaned, and they could now see that he was holding onto a monocle, which must have contained the akuma. Ladybug looked at Chat and they nodded to each other in understanding.

Ladybug held her grip as she grinned at the victim, “Mind telling us some details on a certain Hawkmoth?”

“If you give me your miraculous, I’ll tell you what I know—agh!” the man grunted as she tightened her grip.

“Ladybug!” Chat called but Ladybug didn’t hear him. She didn’t see that she was holding the akumized person a but too tight, that her anger was flaring across her face.

“I need to know!” She retorted, though to whom she was speaking to was unclear. She pulled the victim to her and he released the monocle. It slid across the room as she held the victim under her foot.

“I-I don’t know anything! I swear.” The man was trembling now.

“There must be something, anything that could give us a clue as to who is responsible.” She was rambling now, putting more pressure on him, “You must know something, tell us right now or—” she began before the breath was knocked out of her.

Before she could register Chat’s attack, before she even realized the situation she was in, she saw the akuma. She quickly rose and threw her yo-yo, grabbing the akuma before it slipped out of the room. “Bye, bye.” She said quietly before turning to Chat, who had just knocked her down. He had never disagreed with her so strongly, let alone physically attacked her for it.

The anger that burst in her chest was quelled immediately when she saw the look on his face. It was a cocktail of mixed emotions, but strongest of all was a disappointment that pierced through her. She let him down, and she didn’t even realize it.

“We need to talk, Ladybug.” There was no joking in his tone, and her heart sunk even lower.  
~ ~ ~ 

Adrien burst through his open window and landed with a soft thud on his bed as he detransformed.

Plagg knew what he was thinking, and said nothing. There was no snarky remark, no offhanded comment on the day. The kwami merely floated to his desk where he knew there would be camembert and nibbled quietly, leaving the boy to his thoughts.

An onslaught of questions whirled through the boy’s head. But most pertinent, he thought of the expression on his Lady’s face when she held the akuma victim under her, the desperation, the pleading look that she had in her eyes. He saw the danger and tackled her down, taking the opportunity to free the victim and have her de-akumize the situation.

Through all of this, he wondered if she was okay. Ladybug was strong, and even on her bad days, she always managed to save Paris, keeping her head up. It was one of the things he admired most about her. But the Ladybug he saw today, her face so vulnerable, it made him question everything he knew about her, however tentative that information was in the first place.

I guess I’ll find out tonight, he thought and simply turned over, determined to get some sleep despite the anticipation in his stomach.  
~ ~ ~

“What’s wrong with me, Tikki?” Marinette seemed to only sigh as she sat at her desk.

The kwami floated around her, “You were stressed, Marinette, I could feel it!”

“I’m supposed to stand for good, and I messed up, I messed it up with Chat, I messed up being Ladybug.” She thought of Chat’s face before they parted ways, there was a strain in his voice that just wouldn’t leave her mind, “Tikki, I don’t know what to do!”

She buried her head in her hands, and the kwami simply placed a gentle pat on the girl, “Marinette, it’s okay, you’re allowed to mess up sometimes! But maybe it might be a good idea to talk this out with someone else. I can only do so much for you.”

Marinette lifted her head a little, looking at the wide eyes of her kwami. She was clearly concerned as well, but there was no disappointment in her eyes, “What can Chat do? He’s going to yell at me and tell me that I messed up.”

A tsk sound, “Marinette! You know better, you know Chat better. He cares a lot about you, that much is clear. Ladybug and Chat Noir have always had a close relationship, and your partnership means you can depend on him, it’s not a bad thing at all!”

Marinette gave Tikki a weary smile, “Yes, but I never wanted to do that to him, as soon as I start I may give myself away. You know how I am.”

“I do, but I also know that this is important.” Her eyes were locked onto Marinette’s, “After a while, you’ll make the decisions on what is right and what is wrong, Marinette. I am at your service after all, I can’t force you to do anything, and as you mature, you will see the right thing to do yourself, though I’ll always be here to help!”

Marinette nodded, this was important, after all, it couldn’t last forever. She would tell Chat everything tonight, she needed her partner in this.  
~ ~ ~

Chat Noir was already perched on the Arc De Triomphe when Ladybug swung onto the monument. His eyes watched her intently as she walked towards him, seating herself a good distance away, but not too far. She only looked at the glowing city, the nighttime air cool against her face as the wind blew softly.

After a measureable silence, Chat half smiled, “What’s wrong, my Lady? Cat got your tongue?” Though he didn’t laugh at the end, Ladybug returned a small grin.

“Chat, you’re young,” She began, “or I assume so, considering you don’t have many wrinkles from the small sections of your face that I can see.”

“I’m still in school, yes” Chat ignored the perfect opportunity to make a joke, and Ladybug took that as a sign to keep going.

“What are you going to do once you graduate?” She looked over at him, mellow eyes piercing through his.

“I-I don’t know,” Chat looked away nervously and she realized how invasive the question was.

“Sorry, nevermind, my bad.” She looked away, “I guess what I’m trying to say is that I want to move on. At least for a little while, you know?”  
She took a deep breath, feeling his eyes on her, but she kept staring ahead, knowing she would get lost in that vibrant gaze of his, “I’ve never left Paris, in my entire life. I don’t know how to speak any other language than French, I haven’t even seen any real monuments except these.” Her hand smacked the concrete under them, “I know it all so well, too well.

“I guess what I’m trying to say is that I feel trapped here. I want to go, even for a small amount of time, take myself to a new place, learn new things, meet new people.” She sighed, “But with Hawkmoth and the akumas…” And you, she thought. Slowly her eyes shifted to his, “This needs to end sometime, right?”

His breath seemed caught in his throat, “I guess,” he croaked, “but Paris is my home.”

She sighed, somehow they had shifted just a bit closer and she could see the frayed ends of his blonde hair swirling in every wild direction. “I can’t guess what you’ve experienced, and I won’t privy into what I shouldn’t know, but I want to know for sure. My parents will always be here, and I’ll definitely come back, but how can I know if I don’t even have a choice.” She spoke faster with each word, more fervor building as she began rambling, “with Hawkmoth, there is no choice. Hawkmoth is basically holding us here and there’s nothing we can do unless we stop him. I want to live my life, with my own freedom, with the liberty to make a decision over whether I should stay or I should just—”

“Stay,” he breathed, so softly she wasn’t sure she heard him right until he spoke again, “Please, Ladybug. Stay.”


	2. pining away

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lots of buildup this chapter, the next one will be so worth it I promise.

Chat might as well have written “FOOL” on his forehead. Of all the scenarios in which he professes his feelings for Ladybug, this was never one of them. Never did he consider her desire to leave, it never occurred to him that perhaps this little pond was too small for the big fish that she was. In the shadow of the city lights, he leaned over her and wished she could see the desperation crawling out of his lips, which were about to break with the words he hoped would anchor her onto the Arc, even just for tonight.

But he couldn’t do that to her, she was too free, had too much spirit. She gave him a sad smile, before standing up.

“Oh Chat, I can’t just stay. I want to see the world, I want to see at least one foreign place, I want to do more than just this,” her hand waved but his eyes remained fixed on hers.

He sighed, the apex of his heart seemed to dip into his stomach as he somehow dragged his body off the slab of concrete, “Very well, my Lady,” he couldn’t keep the sad expression from resting on his face, “your wish is my command.”  
~ ~ ~

She wanted to hold Chat, to wrap her arms around him and stroke his messy hair. She steeled herself against this, knowing better than to indulge in an impulse before trying to let him know that she would be leaving and if she was being honest, she wasn’t sure if she wanted to come back.

Not that she didn’t want to come back to him. She wanted to see him grow, and for him to see her too, but it was too painful to think about, and her heart burned too much. She struggled with this for far too long, and she knew what needed to be done. He would always be here, she thought, which only affirmed her desire to leave, I have someone to come home to.

She knew it wasn’t fair of her to do this, but still she was swinging through Paris on her way home, weaving past buildings on her yo-yo instead of holding Chat as she wanted to.

He deserves better. He deserves someone better. She thought before she de-transformed. Tomorrow was a Sunday, but she only wished to rest, even if it was only 9PM.

She dreamed of soft blonde locks that night.  
~ ~ ~

Sunday was a busy time for Adrien. Being a superhero meant balancing his schedule. He took to flexible class times, which usually meant a booked up Sunday, with whatever classes he missed while performing his rightful duties as a superhero of Paris (or as he told his instructors, hiding and keeping safe as a civilian). Today, it was only two fencing lessons, which was good since the exercise would keep his mind occupied.

He really needed his mind to be on anything but last night. Anything that kept the heartache of Ladybug’s words from permeating beyond the back of his head.

By the second practice duel he had tripped over his own feet and his instructor pinned him to the ground with his rapier, “Find your focus. We start again on Monday.”

“But, sir!” Adrien called, taking his mask off.

“Sort out whatever is distracting you and come back. It will be a session wasted if you’re mind is wandering.” The man said before exiting.

Adrien stared at the helmet in his hand, though he couldn’t see it. The only thing he saw was his Lady, his remarkable Lady running off to Hungary or India or China. Falling in love with some local boy who would be much more interesting and witty than he, and never returning to Paris.

He threw the helmet before his kwami busted out from his bag, “Hey, watch it!” Plagg cried, “if you’re not going to feed me I’d appreciate it if you don’t kill me!”

“Did you eat all the cheese already?” Adrien said absently. He wasn’t in the mood to move off the floor so he decided to sit here before his driver came.

“You didn’t leave me any, you were in a daze all morning.” Plagg explained.

“Oh, I’m so sorry Plagg, I’ll handle it later.” Adrien merely sighed, thinking of those pigtails coming undone as he has right then.

The kwami sighed, “You don’t even know the girl, how can you be so sure you’ll miss her?”

Adrien gave him a dirty look before shaking his head, “It’s not about her, you’re right, I don’t know anything about her, but I don’t want to miss this chance with someone who accepts me when I’m the most comfortable. I don’t have to overthink anything with Ladybug, she just knows, so do I, with her. She laughs until her eyes water, she puts her faith in me, she depends on me. No one else, Plagg, there’s no one else.”

“Then maybe you should know that she’ll keep her word.” Plagg looked earnest for once, “she hasn’t betrayed you before this, what makes you doubt her now?”

He stared at his kwami, giving a weak smile before nodding, “I needed that, thanks.”

“You’re gratitude is appreciated, cheese is more appreciated.” Plagg nearly sang as he twirled around the boy.

“Only the smelliest.” Adrien retorted before lifting himself off the gym floor.  
~ ~ ~

Marinette was waiting for an akuma attack, a simple scream to set off her transformation so she could see Chat again. She couldn’t leave things as they have last night, she wouldn’t let it be so. However, her Sunday proved slow. She stared at her desk where she actually finished her homework for once and felt alone.

She looked up and saw the posters of Adrien on her wall. There were fewer than there were when this crush started, and after years of pining, she began running out of energy to one-sidedly love him. If he accepted her feelings, she would be elated, but since she would never confess there was no way that would happen. He was just out of her league, she told herself.

She turned and thought of him in every major city across Europe, with models so much prettier and funnier than she was, with kinder eyes and no threat of awkwardly leaving so that they could save their city. Ladybug gave her so much power, but it kept her from doing so much, like joining her friends (plus Adrien) to the movies at night because Hawkmoth struck just an hour before, or the arcade, or anything fun and involving Adrien for that matter. Although he always somehow ended up cancelling last minute as well, she still wished for the opportunity, which would never come if Hawkmoth was still going strong.

And so she was getting over Adrien, slowly but (painfully) surely, falling out of love altogether. She didn’t want to replace him with Chat, though it was very tempting. She wanted this time to just worry about herself, to do what she wants, without getting hung up on what Adrien might think of it. She pulled her pigtails out of frustration. Even her hair was for him. She had grown it longer thinking it made her prettier, but nothing had changed. She’s still that shy girl in class, no matter how desperately she tried to channel Ladybug, her knees still became jelly at the sight of him.

His hair was longer too, his once perfectly mousse’d hair now pulled into a fashionable ponytail, which he sported so well. She suspected it was the workload he had on him, making it easier to maintain his rep as a fashionable model without wasting time in the morning fixing up his hair (she could see the bags under his beautiful eyes sometimes).

This had to end somewhere, she decided and pulled herself up from her bed. She climbed up and onto the balcony. For now, she needed to think of a way to catch Hawkmoth.


	3. stunning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this took so long I'll def finish this before the summer ends and the fall semester murders me

Adrien didn’t pay any mind to what day it was at school. By this point, he was on his last year and quickly realizing he couldn’t keep up. Everyone was antsy to leave, to study abroad or even just out of the city, Nino was waiting for replies from universities across the country, while Alya prayed her application to some English uni would just hurry up already.

Chloe was the only other one who wasn’t buzzing, though it was because she was set in marriage to a duke of some sort. He wasn’t sure when their friendship, however shallow, became a simple means of furthering herself, but it hurt more than he expected it to.

His eyes drifted across the class, full of students dressed in blazers and shiny shoes, practicing their interview skills and giving each other pointers. He had missed the business formal memo, but his normal attire was good enough to keep him from sticking out too much. Today was Career Day, meaning a bunch of university and career HR folks would come out to the school and take applications and resumes without a second glance.

Geez, when did he become so jaded? He wondered absently to himself, nodding as Nino worried about Alya and Marinette’s tardiness.

“Alya’s on the same boat as you, man. She’s all about this school and she won’t accept anything less. That’s why she’s doing this, but they won’t make it if they don’t get here right now.” Nino glanced to his watch and bit his lip. Adrien realized how much he had zoned out when he had no idea what Nino was even talking about.

“I’m sure they’ll pull through, they always do,” he said to hide his confusion.

“I’m prayin’ they do.” Nino said, before turning his head, “Oh here they come!”

Adrien saw a bob of black hair before he saw her run inside. Immediately, his eyes widened as his mouth hung slightly open.

“Alya we’re okay, you can stop running now!” Marinette called between bright red lips. Her long eyelashes fluttered as she caught her heaving breath by the door, “we made it thank god.”

But it wasn’t just Marinette, it was Alya that he couldn’t draw away from. She had an elegant blue dress, sleeveless and held together by a simple bow behind her neck. There was a small opening in the back and flowers detailed from the hem of the skirt. From his seat he could see small bugs crawling over the white and yellow petals. Peaking from the bottom, Alya had strapped heels and in her hands a silk clutch to complete the outfit. Adorned in her hair were braided white flowers, the rest of Alya’s brown hair flowing like a river as she walked, small curls bouncing at the ends.

“I can’t believe you made me run! I almost messed up your outfit!” Alya exclaimed, “Everything is so perfect they’re going to love it.”

“Only because you’re perfect,” Marinette quipped back, “Thank you for doing this, Alya. I really appreciate it.”

“For the last time, I have never been so blessed to wear an entire outfit designed by the Marinette Dupain-Cheng.”

“Oh please,” They laughed as they gathered themselves to their seat on the other side of the classroom. Adrien never felt so aware of the distance until then.

“You hoping to catch some flies with that?” Nino tapped Adrien’s chin, still open wide, and the boy quickly clamped it shut.

When did this even happen?  
~ ~ ~

If anyone had asked what happened during the first two classes, Marinette wouldn’t have the slightest idea. The only thing she heard in those two hours was Adrien’s not-as-quiet-as-he-probably-thought voice say “She’s stunning”.

“Yeah, that’s my girlfriend. Always a stunner.” Nino replied sassily before Adrien shook his head.

“I meant Marinette.”

Stunning. She almost choked on her own spit. She didn’t even look at him today, worried she would faint on seeing him in a suit in person (he wasn’t even in a dress shirt), so she focused on getting Alya up into the seat without disturbing the outfit. She had planned this outfit for almost a year now, working countless nights seaming and stitching every piece by hand. Even the shoes were her own reworking of an old pair, the only ones that would fit Alya’s tiny feet. It took her two weeks alone to assemble them, let alone adjust them to Alya’s two feet.

She never expected recognition from her long standing crush in all that time. A feeling she almost forgot rose up in her chest as heat quickly spread across her face. Me, I’m stunning.

The next period signified the beginning of the Fair, and on the dot, Marinette shot up from her desk. The room was way too small for her weak heart at the moment and if she ever expected to get past the door in one piece, she needed Alya and herself gone before she was tempted to engage Adrien in conversation. So, word on the street is that you find me stunning.

Definitely not. Screw the shoes, she thought, as she grabbed Alya by the arm and made a run for the Fair, ignoring the protests from the other girl and also unknowingly from the boy’s attention she so craved all those years.  
~ ~ ~

She looked good in red, Adrien thought as he watched her dart out faster than she dove into class that morning. He pushed in his chair and they made their way to the gym where the Career Day activities were primarily being held in what was commonly called the “Fair”.

The Fair was truly a conglomeration of people who did everything for show. All the students cleaned up and the corporate folks dressed down to appeal to the younger crowd. There was small talk, discussions, and lots of hand shaking. Adrien, normally, would be anywhere but here, the atmosphere resonating with the uptight parties he sometimes had to attend with his father. But he pushed through the crowd, determination fueling each step.

He had to see her, had to see that dress, had to see her work again.

His eyes drew him to the vicinity of a thicker crowd of people and from his height he could see Marinette and Alya before a sharply dressed woman, older and clearly on a level higher than anyone else here.

“-and that is why I chose to represent Persephone, Goddess of both Spring and the Underworld in this dress. The duality of light and dark, the bright flowers of life hide the darkness lingering just behind, there is a certain contrast to her nature, and she is leading two completely different lives as one.” Marinette’s voice was a little shaky, but articulate. The other woman merely nodded, taking another inspection of the dress before writing something on her notepad.

She handed the paper back to Marinette, “Give me a call when you’re ready to start, Fashion Week is just around the corner.”

He saw the look on her face, the bittersweet smile spread across her face as she gazed at that paper, and Adrien became immensely aware of the bugs affixed on the white flowers. There were beetles and bees, but most of all, there were little red ladybugs embroidered across the fabric.

If it was the Fashion Week that he knew, that was going to be in New York, not here in Paris. Marinette was offered a job in New York, and graduation was only weeks away. He didn’t see her staring back, all he saw was the sea of blue, the blue dress, her blue eyes, red lips parting above her red blouse.

And black hair, the darkest black he could imagine.

She was leaving him for good, just as he was putting the pieces together.  
~ ~ ~

Marinette laid on her bed and sighed. It was a success, her work was a one-hundred percent, fool-proof success. Somehow, she pulled the pieces together and was offered an internship abroad. Just as she planned it. Yet there was an ache in her chest. She looked over at the Adrien Agreste poster mounted on her wall in a casual outfit, his almost hazel-green eyes staring back at her. Staring. He was literally staring at me. It was more than she could even dream of by this point.

But it wasn’t enough. The papers in her hands felt like they weighed a million kilograms, as if the ink on the page was inscripted in gold, the staple solid platinum.

This was her one chance for a serious fashion company to take her in, instead of just tailoring for her mom every now and then, earning praise from the neighborhood moms. It paled in comparison to the opportunity here. She would never get this chance again, and the woman made sure to tell her that.

She gazed at the dress, pride swelling like a balloon between her ribs each time she glanced at it. She did this, she made it this far with her own hands. There was so much she invested in this, and it all paid off.

Thank god for Chat’s rambling, she thought, had he not mentioned the duality of their life, she may have never thought of Persephone. Marinette had found herself stuck on which Goddess she should focus on for the project, as the theme of the company was “Mythology”. She was relentless since, ensuring the best design, hand sewing each stitch, each stem and petal.

Speaking of Chat, she was due to meet him soon, yet she groaned. She didn’t want to see him, not without a plan. If they didn’t come up with something to catch Hawkmoth, she would never get the chance to utilize this opportunity, and she didn’t think she had it in her to deny this offer without breaking down.

Marinette pulled herself off her bed and pulled her hair out. Since she grew her hair out, she wanted to keep the style unrecognizable from Chat so that on the off-chance he saw her civilian self, he wouldn’t connect the dots, literally speaking. She super curled her pigtails so they appeared shorter, tied them within tight ribbons on either side of her head. She reached for her brush when she saw a pair of earrings she won at an arcade, but never wore as she didn’t need them. She picked it up, inspecting it before immediately dropping it.

“Tikki! I got it! Transform me!” She called and shot out the door as soon as she could. She needed to tell Chat immediately.  
~ ~ ~

Chat was lying on his back, staring up at the rolling clouds and perfectly blue sky. Perfectly blue, just like her eyes. Marinette’s or Ladybug’s he wondered, before noting that it didn’t even matter. They were one in the same.

He spent the past few hours mentally slapping himself, while somewhat slapping himself in real life. He truly was the most oblivious person in the world, or maybe more self centered than he thought. Adrien never paid much attention to the shy girl in class, nor did he focus too much on the changes in his Lady. It all seemed so natural a progression when they were face to face (almost) every other day. They grew together, just a bit, but it was enough now that he could spot the differences, and that made the similarities more prominent.

Chat still couldn’t believe it took him so long. He turned again and caught Ladybug (or Marinette?) swinging onto the rooftop.

He got up, shooting her a quick smile, “Sorry, my Lady, was just taking a quick Chat nap.”

She didn’t pay him any mind though, she simply gave him a tight lipped look, “Chat, I trust you a lot.”  
Chat peeked up at her, “What?”

“I trust you,” She slowly circled him as she spoke, “and in return, I’m asking for a lot of trust back.”

“What are you thinking, do you have a plan?”

“Yes,” she paused, finally looking at him, “but it’s dangerous, and really risky actually.”

He thought of a question he asked Plagg once, about the limits of their suits, this strange power that they had when they were in their Miraculous form. He was as vague as he always was, dodging the question before he finally squeaked out that there was of course a limit to their powers. They were strong, very strong, but not by any means invincible. Chat was careful from then on not to dance around the line, but if it meant helping her out, he would do it.

“Anything,” his voice was raspy as he stared into Marinette’s blue eyes (Marinette’s, distinctly her’s), “Anything for you, my Lady.”

She looked at him carefully, her eyes shifting as she studied his face. She just nodded, as if satisfied with herself, “For us” she spoke, and the words dissipated in his mind.  
~~~

He looked like he was going to cry for a split second, or her own eyes were watering, Marinette couldn’t tell. Right now she wasn’t compassionate Marinette. She was Ladybug, an unstoppable force against the unstoppable Hawkmoth. Except she could do it, she could really do it. 

Ladybug and Marinette could end this.

“Chat, I trust you a lot,” too much, she knew. She contemplated this question for too long, and she knew if he asked her of anything she would be truthful in her answer, no matter how pressing. “I trust you and in return, I’m asking for a lot of trust back.”

“What are you thinking,” he didn’t blink as he spoke. She couldn’t read his expression, couldn’t figure out his thoughts past his black mask and green piercing eyes, “Do you have a plan?”

“Yes--” but it involves you knowing who I am, who I really am, she bit her lip, “but it’s dangerous, and really risky actually.” She thought of Tikki’s words of assurance, that she is smart and capable, that she can do this after all.

“Anything. Anything for you, my Lady.” He stared at her, his eyes wide and voice cracking a bit and her heart felt like it was drowning.

“For us,” she wanted to press her palm into his cheek, stroke crescents with her thumb across the peek of skin below his mask.

**Author's Note:**

> hello, with the Big Reveal on the horizon for season 2, I decided to push this piece through. I haven't published in years so apologies for any mistakes. Hope you stick through and enjoy the ride!


End file.
